Ok, this is more of a filler than anything else and I apologize for it. The end of this is really sappy (in my mind crappy), but the next few chapters are going to be a lot longer and much more pivotal plot wise. I just wanted to get the team on the road again. So, please review. It doesn't take long and it helps me see if I should keep going with this or not. Thank you and on with the show! :~)
****
When the hot red sun rose above the sandy horizon, Alia and Murdock lay in her bed, entwined in each other's arms. Neither one slept the rest of the night. They made love, sharing and healing each other's wounds, at least temporarily. As far as the couple was concerned, the world didn't exist outside of the motel room.
Alia gazed deep into the pilot's sparkling brown eyes, not wanting to break contact for fear this wonderful dream would shatter around her. She sighed, momentarily happy with the world.
Murdock shifted and Alia grabbed him in panic. "Don't leave me!" she pleaded.
"I wasn't plannin' on it," the pilot replied, confused by the brunette's sudden alarm. "My arm's fallin' asleep; that's all. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Alia lied.
I can't believe myself, she thought. I'm forgetting the cardinal rule of any mission: no getting emotionally involved with the mark. But this is different! We're so much alike in history; I can't help it. If only things were different, if only…
Stop thinking like that! You're betraying your team, the only team that matters. Don't forget that you have to contact Lynn Wu and Jill in Las Cruces to set the next part of the plan in place.
Murdock smiled as if he knew her secret. "I can tell you're lying. What's botherin' you?"
Alia sighed, "I'm just afraid that you think we moved too fast; that I took advantage of you tonight. Do you regret what we did?" How 'bout that? the brunette thought. I'm feeling guilty! Somehow it feels good to feel guilt again.
The pilot kissed the brunette long and hard. "Does that answer your question?" he asked once they pulled away, gasping for breath.
Screw the mission! Alia thought. I've never been able to be myself around a man before, and I'm not going to give this up now.
The brunette kissed Murdock back even more passionately, no longer acting or lying. "I love you!" she whispered in his ear as she began to make love to him anew.
In the next room, Face dazedly dragged himself out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans to answer a knock at his door. He opened it to come face-to-face with one of the more unpleasant aspects of any mission: Hannibal in an energetic mood at six in the morning after guard duty.
"Good morning, Face!" The colonel smiled, knowing it would piss the lieutenant off. "What a great day! C'mon and get dressed, guys. We've got a lot of ground to cover today."
For a moment Face couldn't remember who else Hannibal was referring to besides himself. "Murdock?" the lieutenant called over his shoulder. "You awake?"
"That's strange," muttered Hannibal. "Murdock's always up before you."
Face turned around to see Murdock's bed empty and unchanged since the pilot left on guard duty four hours before.
"Face, did Murdock come back from guard duty last night?" asked Hannibal, concern evident in his voice.
"I didn't hear him come in," answered Face. "He woke you up when his shift was over, right?"
"Yeah, but I thought he came back here. Where is he?"
"You don't think someone grabbed him, do you, Hannibal?"
"I don't know, Face. It's possible, but I think we would've gotten a ransom note or something. Go check on Alia just the same."
Face nodded and jogged over to Alia's door. He knocked, but got no answer.
When she heard the knock at her door, Alia glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. "Shit!" she cursed. "That's our six o'clock wake up call!"
"Ignore 'em, sweetheart. They can wait another five to ten minutes," murmured Murdock. He kissed her to silence any protest.
Face was getting more nervous with each passing second. "Alia!" he called and rapped his knuckle on the door harder. "Are you there? Answer me!"
Hannibal came up behind the lieutenant. "No answer?" the colonel asked.
"No!" Face replied, exasperated. "I'm worried, Hannibal. What if Jones' men came back here and grabbed both Alia and Murdock?" asked Face, panic edging his words. "Do you have a key to Alia's room?"
"No, but now I'm wishing you scammed an extra for us last night," replied the colonel. "Think we should break down the door?"
"I'll pick the lock instead. That way we won't have to pay for damages." Face whipped his ever-handy lock picking kit and went to work on the door.
"Murdock," Alia murmured in the pilot's ear. "I think they're picking the lock."
"You're hearin' things," the pilot replied, trying to get the brunette's attention back to the activity at hand. "It's probably just the bed groanin' from the use this mornin'. C'mon, you should be the one groanin', or am I not satisfyin' you?"
"Don't talk dirty! It sounds wrong coming from you," admonished the brunette. "That's my job." She kissed Murdock hard and ignored the scratching at the door.
Outside, Face twisted his picks once more. His efforts were answered by a pop, signaling the lock was sprung. "Ah ha! It's all in the wrists," the lieutenant smiled at Hannibal.
"All right, now down to business," said Hannibal. He pulled out his 9mm and Face followed suit with his Colt .45. The two men nodded to each other, and the colonel flung the door open.
Murdock and Alia jumped, grabbing at sheets to cover themselves, when the door swung back and hit the wall. It was hard to tell who was more embarrassed about the intrusion, the lovers or the intruders.
"Well…Murdock…" Face said, breaking the tension in the room. "I see you're more than all right."
"Don't you guys believe in privacy?" Alia exclaimed.
"We were worried Jones' men might have abducted one or the both of you in the night," Hannibal explained, trying in vain to look as calm as usual.
"Thanks for the concern, guys, but next time, don't panic so easily," replied Murdock.
"We'll leave you two alone," the lieutenant said as he and the colonel backed out of the room. "Just don't forget we have to make it to Las Cruces today." Face winked at the pilot as he closed the door behind him and Hannibal.
Outside the motel room the colonel muttered, "Well, that was embarrassing."
"Tell me about it," replied Face. The colonel shot his lieutenant a sidelong glance. "What?" Face asked, confusedly.
"You're not known to willingly give up a girl to Murdock," answered Hannibal. "What's up, Face?"
The lieutenant sighed, "Why am I always made out to be the bad guy? Alia and I had a little chat last night and--"
"You didn't sleep with her too, did you?" interrupted Hannibal.
"No!" exclaimed Face. "Of course not! What kind of friend sleeps with his buddy's girl? Contrary to popular opinion, I do have some morals, thank you very much."
The colonel threw up his hands in mock surrender. "I just wanted to check! I didn't want anybody getting close to Alia, but now I see it's too late for that."
"Why not?" the lieutenant asked. "Why don't you trust Alia?"
Hannibal looked Face straight in the eye. "Who are you and what have you done with Face?"
Face laughed, "What, Hannibal?"
"Yesterday you wanted nothing more than to bury Alia out in the middle of the desert. What's with the sudden change in heart?"
"Well, she started harassing me on guard detail about how I wasn't doing a good job, and we had a pretty good screaming match for awhile…" Face related all the details of the previous night's conversation with Alia while Hannibal listened attentively.
"…So you see, Hannibal, Alia was just acting out of her natural defense instincts," concluded the lieutenant.
"I'm still not liking this," the colonel said, shaking his head. "She's lied to us already. What makes this story legit? Like I told BA yesterday: Alia's too much like that blonde we picked up when those renegade mercenaries in South America abducted Murdock's Dr. Richter. They're both quick to change masks and are extremely careful about not letting anyone get a glimpse of their real face underneath."
"But Alia lied only about her last name once," Face replied. "No one in their right mind would come up with such a detailed background for a rouse; it would be impossible to recall every lie you told if you had to keep up the same act over any length of time. Now that blonde just memorized facts and came up with simple stories on the fly. Plus she lied at least ten times straight to our faces. I can count Alia's lies on one hand."
"The ones we know about, yes," conceded Hannibal.
"So why did you take Alia's offer if you don't trust her?" asked Face.
"Whenever we seem to think that there isn't a case, there turns out to be one. Though it may not be close to the original problem, there's always a case. Besides, I find it handy to keep my enemies close. That way I can keep an eye on 'em."
****
"Oh my God!" Alia exclaimed as she slumped against Murdock. "I don't know if I should laugh or die of embarrassment after Face and Hannibal catching us in the act!"
"Yeah, that completely got me out of the mood," the pilot grumbled as he swung his long legs over the side of the bed.
"Where do you think you're going, handsome?" Alia purred while she traced her finger along Murdock's back.
"We gotta drive to get to your place before dark," replied the pilot, "an' we can't mess around all day, though I would love to fool around with you some more." He reached over his shoulder, caught Alia by the wrist, and pulled her arm back over his shoulder. He felt her soft body pressed against his back and her warm breath on his cheek. He could still faintly smell the brunette's lavender perfume mixed in with the salty scent of sweat. He wanted to stay in this moment forever, but he knew the team had a job to do. Murdock turned and kissed Alia once more before getting off the bed to get dressed.
Alia flopped onto her stomach and propped her head on her hands. "Y'know, we could keep fooling around and get ready to hit the road at the same time," she smiled.
Murdock turned in the middle of collecting his scattered clothes and gave the brunette a confused look.
"You want a shower?" Alia asked as she rose from the bed and beckoned the pilot into the bathroom.
Murdock grinned and followed the brunette into the shower. "How can I say no to you?"
****
Half an hour later, BA, Hannibal, and Face finished packing up the van and waited for Murdock and Alia to grace them with their presence. BA paced back and forth impatiently, his hundreds of gold chains clinking with his movements. "What's takin' 'em so long?" the black man growled. "We're supposed to be gone by now!"
"Let's just say that the two of them really hit it off last night," replied Face. "Hannibal and I had the unfortunate luck of barging in on them this morning."
BA stared at Face in utter disbelief. "Murdock an' Alia? That crazy fool's dumber than he looks!"
"BA, did you see the legs on her?" Face exclaimed. "I don't blame Murdock one bit for shacking up with Alia."
"Hey! I thought you were on my side, Faceman!" growled BA. "We were gonna make her pay for playin' us for suckas." The black man advanced menacingly toward the lieutenant who squirmed in fear of what the bigger man could do to him.
Lucky for Face, he was saved from figuring out how to avoid BA's wrath when Murdock and Alia finally appeared. The brunette sported a light blue t-shirt, khaki shorts, and sneakers, and had her damp hair pulled back in a loose bun. The only differences between the pilot's appearance from the day before were his wet hair, his jacket and flannel shirt in one arm, and Alia in the other. Both were grinning from ear to ear as they joined the rest of the team.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" Alia asked cheerfully. "Wonderful day for a drive, and we've got a long one ahead of us. Shall we hit the road, gentlemen?"
"It's about time!" BA grumbled and stalked off towards the driver's side of his van.
Murdock and Alia headed off towards the Mustang as Hannibal pulled Face aside. "Face, do me a favor," the colonel muttered.
"Sure, Hannibal," replied the lieutenant. "What do you want me to do?"
"Go with Murdock and Alia in the Mustang. When you get a chance, find out what Alia told Murdock last night and see if it checks out with the story she gave you. If it does, then I'd feel a lot better having Alia around."
Face nodded in agreement. Hannibal clapped his lieutenant on the back and climbed into shotgun in the van. Face turned and walked over to the Mustang. "Mind if I join you two?" he asked Murdock and Alia.
"I don't mind at all," Alia replied.
"C'mon! Hop in the back, Faceman!" Murdock added from shotgun.
"I don't want to be a third wheel, y'know," said Face.
"We all need to seek out new experiences," responded the brunette. "You can jump over the side if you're careful of the paint and the upholstery."
The lieutenant almost vaulted over the side of the car, but then he took a closer look at Alia's face. "Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked. "You look terrible!"
"Wow, thanks for the complement," muttered the brunette. "How could I sleep with a sexy thing like Murdock loving me up? So I haven't had any sleep in the past 48 hours; I've gone for longer stints without it bothering me."
"You shouldn't be driving while exhausted. That's as dangerous as driving drunk!" Face scolded.
"Fine! If you don't want me to drive, then you do," retorted Alia. "I'll just sleep in the back seat if you think you can handle stick shift."
Face shot the brunette a sour smile as the two switched places. "I think I know how to drive standard, thank you very much."
"You don't understand," Alia replied as she settled in the back. "This was my first car. I fell in love with Mustangs after I saw Bullitt in the movie theater in 1968, so I saved up all my money and bought this baby on my eighteenth birthday. I've worked on it since I got it used in '69 and now it's in better shape than when it first came off the Ford assembly line."
Face started the Mustang and pulled out onto the road, the van following close behind. "You and BA should talk, Alia," the lieutenant called over the wind. "You both have an unnatural interest in cars. Alia?" He glanced in the rearview mirror to see the brunette stretched across the back seat sound asleep. He smiled and turned his attention back up front. "Wow, you sure tired her out last night, Murdock!"
"Hey, she was no slouch, let me tell ya," the pilot replied. "That was probably the best night of my life. Jealous that I got the lovin' last night and not you?"
"Nah," answered Face, "Alia's not my type."
"When you say your type, you mean blonde with a perfect body and no brain, right?"
Face shot Murdock an annoyed look. "Ha, ha, very funny."
The pilot dangled his arm over the side of the car and watched the passing scrub for few minutes before turning back to the lieutenant. "So what changed your mind about Alia last night?" asked Murdock. "That must've been one hell of a talk you two had for you to reconsider letting BA use her as a punching bag."
"I don't think I've had a conversation like that in years," Face began. "Alia started to bitch me out again while I was on watch, and I asked her why she was such a jerk all the time. Turns out that her life used to be a living hell and the tough girl act is her way of protecting herself."
"I can't imagine what it's like to grow up in the slums of New York City," said Murdock. "I never really thought about how lucky I was to have my grandparents around to raise me."
"And I always felt that there couldn't be any place worse than the orphanage growing up. Can you imagine finding out that you were the result of a rape?"
"I imagine it would be worse for a girl just because she'll probably fear the same thing that happened to her mother will happen to her."
Murdock fidgeted with the side mirror for a moment. "Let's put some music on," he stated. "This is getting too heavy."
"I'm with ya," Face replied, "but the only stations we'll pick up out here are country western. Look in the glove box and see if Alia's got any good tapes."
"No Blondie, Face, unless you want her to wake up an' break your hand for good," the pilot smiled as he opened the compartment. About half a dozen tapes spilled out into his lap and the floor, so Murdock read off the artists as he picked them up. "Let's see here…We got David Bowie, Queen, Alice Cooper, AC/DC--"
"Sounds like Alia's a rocker to me," muttered Face.
Murdock ignored his friend and kept reading. "Here's the good stuff: Van Halen, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. What's your pick?"
"What Beatles album?"
"Best one: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
"Put that one in."
Murdock complied and shortly Paul McCartney's voice sang over the pulsing drumbeat of the title track. The pilot opened his mouth to sing, but Face interrupted. "Murdock, I'd like to hear the Beatles sing it for once, all right?"
"Fine," the pilot grumbled and pouted in his seat This was going to be a long car ride if he wasn't going to be able to do anything fun.
To be continued…
